1956 No brake lights. | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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1956 No brake lights.

  • Thread starter Thread starter 56 customline
  • Start date Start date
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56 customline

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Thunderbird Year
1956
Hey folks: No brake lights on my 56B. Have power all the way to bulb sockets, but when you put 1157 in won't light. New bulbs, tried new sockets. Head scratcher. Any ideas?

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Hi,
Do you have tail lights and directional signals?
Sounds like a bad electrical ground. Make sure the bulb sockets are grounded to the body.
Also, I would check that the negative ground wire from the battery to the engine is in good condition and tight. Make sure the ground wire from the engine to the body is in place, in good condition, not corroded and is bolted tight.
 
56 customline said:
Hey folks: No brake lights on my 56B. Have power all the way to bulb sockets, but when you put 1157 in won't light. New bulbs, tried new sockets. Head scratcher. Any ideas?
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If you have taillights, then it sounds like the brake light switch is bad. I had a similar issue with my '55.
 
Dick Rupp said:
If you have taillights, then it sounds like the brake light switch is bad. I had a similar issue with my '55.
Click to expand...
The T-Bird parts suppliers sell a mechanical switch that attaches to the brake pedal. Easy to install, and more sensitive & reliable than the hydraulic one.
 
This happened to me on my 56, Bad brake line switch. located on the bottom drivers side lower exhaust manifold. Caution ! buy a new one, change when car is cooled down. you will get burned. Remember to add a drop of brake line fluid into the new switch housing orfuss dot match before changing out the switch or you will insert a air bubble into the brake line system.
 
OP States: Hey folks: No brake lights on my 56B. Have power all the way to bulb sockets, but when you put 1157 in won't light. New bulbs, tried new sockets. Head scratcher. Any ideas?

OP states that he has power all the way to the brake light. Why would anyone assume that the brake light switch is bad? The switch has to be functional for the power to get to the bulb socket. Since power does make it to that point, then the problem has to lie around that area. I would agree with the person who questioned the ground. OP states that he is using new 1157's. Sometimes an old bulb will have the contacts "mushroom" over time because of vibration, but he is using new bulbs so that would not be the case. I would try different new bulbs to be sure you do not have a defective batch. OP has probably already done that. My gut would tell me that you may have a defective light assembly. If that is not the case, I would go back to a ground problem. All of this can be verified with a 12 VDC power source and a multi-meter. Best wishes, electrical problems can be very frustrating.
 
If the switch closes but has high resistance when closed then testing at the socket (or the output terminal of the switch) without any bulb in the socket it will show 12 volts with a multimeter. But with the bulb, the load, in the circuit, the brake light switch resistance will cause a voltage drop at the switch and it can be to the point where the voltage at the bulb becomes so low that the bulb no longer lights. That is why you can get 12 volts at the socket and yet the bulb will not light. Similarly, 2 or 3 ohms anywhere in the circuit, even if the switch itself is good, can produce the same effect, a 12v reading under no load but no bulb functionality when the bulb is in the circuit.
 
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